Tiananmen Commemoration Highlights Modern Rights Defenders 22 years later. Victims and witnesses of the 1989 TiananmenMassacre shared the way they saw and experienced the demonstrations, the massacre, and the long-term effect it has had on the Chinese psyche at a commemoration held by the Visual Arts Guild. Two contemporary rights defenders, Ai Weiwei and Zhao Lianhai, both currently detained in China, were honored at the event.
One of those recognized was Ai Weiwei. The world-renowned artist/activist is currently detained by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for his political expressions, which include a recent video (Without Fear or Favor by Ai Weiwei on TED). Zhao Lianhai was also recognized for his efforts in bringing to light the melamine-tainted milk scandal in 2008. Zhao was sentenced by the CCP to 2 1/2 years in prison after he set up a website, Kidney Stone Babies, to advise parents of the toxic milk after his own child suffered from kidney illness from the tainted dairy. He was released on medical parole last December, then again taken into custody on May 26, apparently because of his public demand for the release of Ai Weiwei that same week.
The keynote speaker, Perry Link, a professor of Comparative Literature and Foreign Languages at UC Riverside, is one of the West’s top experts on China, its language, culture, and people. His report on how China is good at “forgetting” massacres and how also the media quickly lose interest in worth reading in full on http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/united-states/tiananmen-commemoration-highlights-modern-rights-defenders-57592.html
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 